asked the Taoiseach if his attention has been drawn to the statement of the President of the EEC Commission relative to Ireland's application for membership of the EEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
6.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Membership of EEC.
5.
asked the Taoiseach what steps he has taken, or intends to take, to advance Ireland's application for membership of the EEC.
7.
asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the present position regarding Ireland's application for membership of the EEC; and whether the Government have given any further consideration to the possibility of some form of association other than full membership.
8.
asked the Taoiseach if there have been any recent developments concerning the application of this country to join the EEC or trade with the EEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 8 together.
The applications for membership of the European Economic Community, including that of Ireland, continue to remain on the agenda of the EEC Council but, as Deputies are no doubt aware, there is still disagreement among the member countries on the question of the opening of negotiations. The Government, as hitherto, will continue through Ministerial and official contacts to lose no opportunity to urge expansion of the Common Market and to keep Ireland's interest in, and eligibility for, membership of the European Communities before the Member Governments and the EEC Commission. The Government will similarly continue its present practice of maintaining close contact on EEC matters with the other applicants for membership.
Since the failure of the EEC Council in December, 1967, to reach agreement on the opening of negotiations with the applicant countries, various proposals for commercial arrangements have been put forward. These proposals were adverted to by the President of the EEC Commission in a statement to journalists on the 17th December last. In his statement the President expressed himself as moderately optimistic about the possibility of a compromise solution before Easter. The EEC member countries have not yet, however, reached agreement among themselves as to the type of arrangement they would be prepared to consider. The Government are, of course, following closely the developments in this matter, but Deputies will appreciate that progress must depend upon agreement in principle at least among the member countries in the first instance.
Does the Taoiseach agree that on the basis of the statement just made, it is highly unlikely that this country will be in the EEC before the mid-70s? That being the case, does it not follow that we must instantly seek a review of that other Agreement with the British, the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement, which will take full effect before this date in the mid-70s.
I do not know what basis the Deputy has for his prognostication as to the mid-1970s. The Deputy must have heard in my reply that the negotiations to which he referred about the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement are now in train in fact.
Would the Taoiseach not agree that there have been no direct negotiations since we last met here and that, in fact, there has been no progress as far as the Irish application is concerned? We are simply sitting on the fence to see what other people are doing without acting on our own.
Every applicant country is in exactly the same position. The six member countries are those who are now considering what further action they can take, and certain action is being contemplated in a meeting which will take place in Luxembourg towards the end of this week.
Would the Taoiseach not agree that the British ex-Foreign Minister has just toured every country in Europe with a view to forwarding the British application, and we are just sitting back and doing nothing?
The former British Foreign Minister has come back from a tour of Europe according to Press reports, but there is no indication in these reports as to what he was discussing.
At least he is trying.
Does the Taoiseach not agree that we agreed to reduce our tariffs by ten per cent each year on the assumption that we would be in the EEC by 1970? Does he not further agree that this reduction is doing much harm to our industrialists and those employed in our industries here in Ireland and, due to the fact that we may not now be in the EEC until 1975 or perhaps 1980 — or never — does he not agree that further negotiations should take place, and that our tariffs should not be further reduced, because if they are this will gravely affect our industrialists and our employees?
For the Deputy's benefit let me say for the second time that further negotiations are taking place. I do not know why the Deputy is trying to plug that one. Secondly, there was no question of tariff reductions in relation to the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement being conditional upon our membership of the EEC. It was in contemplation of membership at that time when we believed——
That is a distinction without a difference.
——that if we had come into membership of the EEC by then the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement would be subsumed. Deputies opposite must not lose sight of the fact that there is a world movement towards free trade from which we cannot stay aloof. With regard to the great damage that is being done to our manufacturing industries, industrial employment now at over 190,000 is at the highest ever in the history of the State.
All round employment is much lower than it was ten years ago.
(Interruptions.)
Order.
Will the matter of a further ten per cent reduction in our tariff barrier be specifically referred to in the discussions with the British Government in the next few weeks?
I have already mentioned in my reply that I am not ready to indicate at this stage what the discussions will involve. We normally do not indicate in advance of discussions what specific details are going to be taken account of.
Mr. O'Leary
Go back for another kick from your master.
It will be a democratic matter anyway and not a totalitarian one.
Mr. O'Leary
A democratic kick.
Can the Taoiseach say if we will be represented at the Luxembourg meeting?
It is a WEU meeting.
(Interruptions.)
Question No. 9.
There is a suggestion emanating from the Dutch that a meeting of Foreign Ministers of member countries and African countries be held.
Will we be represented?
We will be, if such a meeting takes place and if it is representative of all the other countries.
Does the Taoiseach think that the Irish agriculturalists will agree with the present policy in the EEC of slaughtering milch cows?
That is a separate question.
There is no policy of slaughtering cows. This comes from an individual programme put forward by a man on his own personal basis — Dr. Mansholt — there is nothing adopted as a policy at all.
It will be.
The Deputy does not know that.